2013 GMC Terrain Denali Highlights More Bling, Upsized Engine

We'll save you our full thoughts on the GMC Terrain, the truck brand's midsize crossover, for now. We've driven the 2012 model, and we can tell you one of the worst things about it is its weak-feeling 3.0-liter V-6 engine. But before we could even get our upcoming full review of it published, something amazing happened, as if a voice from the heavens rang down to GMC saying "Listen to Automotive.com."GMC announced it would be dropping the lackluster 262-horsepower engine for its much better 3.6-liter V-6 that GM uses in everything from the Chevrolet Camaro to the Cadillac SRX. GMC shared the news with journalists yesterday in the Big Apple as it introduced yet another big deal for the brand, the 2013 GMC Terrain Denali.In the 2013 GMC Terrain, the 3.6-liter engine will make 301 horsepower and will come as the new big engine option in all V-6 models, including the Terrain Denali, and it is expected to carry fuel economy figures identical to the 3.0-liter engine's: 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway with front-wheel drive and 16/23 with all-wheel drive. All models will carry over the 2012 model's 172-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine as the base engine, which is capable of 32 mpg highway.The GMC Terrain Denali will come standard with front-wheel drive. All-wheel drive will be optional. Interestingly, the GMC Terrain Denali will also be available with the standard 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, not surprising seeing as how it's far and away the most popular engine for the Terrain. Expect the options list to be short, though, as it will otherwise come completely loaded. Decked out. Blinged up. Or as the kids these days say, it'll come with a lot of neat toys.Four-cylinder models of the the 2013 GMC Terrain Denali will come with standard 18-inch wheels while V-6 models will come with 19-inchers. The exterior also gets satin chrome accents, body color front and rear bumper accents, body color rocker panels with satin chrome accents, new headlight and taillamp designs, and a chrome exhaust pipe. V-6 models will get two of 'em. It will also have the Denali signature grille inspired by a Remington electric razor, which compared to the standard GMC Terrain grille treatment looks downright tame.On the inside, the 2013 GMC Terrain Denali will have new, soft-touch black leather on the seats and door inserts, stitched in red leather. It will also have a Denali-exclusive soft-touch dashboard with French stitching, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with wood inlays, "Denali" embossed on the front seatbacks, mahogany wood trim accents, illuminated door sill plates, and eight-way power driver and passenger front seats.Our tester was a V-6-powered 2012 GMC Terrain SLT-2 with front-wheel drive, ringing in at a little over $35,000. While prices haven't been announced on the 2013 Terrain Denali in any iteration, we can't imagine it will be any cheaper than the 2012 models, especially our loaded-up tester. Look for it to show up at next month's New York Auto Show and its pricing information to be available closer to the 2013 GMC Terrain Denali's official launch in the third quarter of 2012.Source: GMC

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